Automatic lubricating device for remote movable and other parts



May 22, 1923. 1,456,009

J. V. RICE. JR

AUTOMATIC LUBRICATING DEVICE FOR REMOTE MOVABLE 'AND OTHER PARTS Original Filed Aug. 28 1920 NVE/VTO 'l ATTORNEY Patented May 22, 1923.

UNITED* STATES e JOHN v. RICE, JR.,..oE RoR'DENTowN', NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNCR rro RICE GAS ENGINE PATENT OFFICE.

COMIANY, OFBORDENTOWN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC LUBRIOATING DEVICE FOR REMOTE MOVABLE AND OTHER PARTS.

yApplicationfiled August 28, 1920, Serial'No. 406,723. Renewed March 13, 1923.

T all whom t may concern: Be it known that I, -JOHN V. RICE, J r., a citizen of the United Statesand resident of Bordentown, in the county of Burlington 5 and State of New Jersey, have inventedy certain new and useful Improvements in Au-V tomatic Lubricating Devices for Remote Movable and Other 'Parts, of which the vfollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to a lubricating de- Vice forl automatically feedingA oil or other lubricating material in proper measure to a'moving mechanical element, as, for ex- A ample,.anengine piston, or its rod, or some t other active member. The chief object I have in View, among manyv that might be mentioned, is to carry the oil or lubricant 'into-thc interior working members ofan engine or'machine, and effect a thorough lubrication 'and smooth, noiseles-s, and frictionless operation of all the parts through a steadyinfiow of oil in moderate quantity,

ysoas to subserve the 'interests of economy andl at the same timeinsure efficiency and dependabilit of supply, delivering the latter-at any esired'remote, innermost point Y `under such pressure regulation as may be most desirable. And, withthis and other useful objects in view, the invention maybe said to consist essentially in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts, substantially, as will behereinafter described and then more fullyl pointed `out in the claims. f v

1n the accompanying drawing which illustrates'onepractical form ofl my invention:

'Figure' 1 is a longitudinal section of an 'internal combustion engine, and shows my improved automatic lubricat'or practically applied thereto for the" purpose of transmitting the lubricant through the piston rod to, oil the piston.

` v'FigureQ is a partial sectional view of the crank lpin of the same, and shows the detailed'constr'uction of my improved oiling device on an enlarged scale. y

yFigurez'?) is a horizontal@ sectional plan View on the line 3, 3, ofFigure 1. l

Similar characters of reference designate .like parts.l throughout the `different figures of the drawing.

Inthe drawings, for explanatory purposes merely, I have adopted the design of oscillating internal combustion engine, which forms the subject-matter of my copendlng application for Letters Patent iiled July 3, 1920, Serial Number 393,946. I A deand 5, between which heads and the ad-l ]o1n1ng ends of the trunk piston 7 are the compression chambers 2 and 4. v Within the cylinder 1 reciprocates the piston 7, having recessed heads 7 and 7, that are connected by passages or tubes 8 and 8a, so that two separate systems of tubes and chambers for handling the explosive mixture are provided. A and B denote the explosion chambers which surround the piston 7, and have a common central exhaust' port D, through which the exhaust is taken away by pipes 37 and 38, pipe 38 bein stationary, and

Apipe 37 arrangedA to oscil ate with the cylinder, while an inlet C has the function ofv lntroducing the explosive mixture of air and gas into the aforesaid separate gas systems and allowing it to reach the compression and explosion chambers.

A piston rod 9 is connected with the piston by screwing it into the lower head 7b of the piston 7, and a lock nut` 39 on said rod 9 screws up tightlyy against head 7".

`Piston Arod 9 passes through the packing gland 40 located in recessed boss 41 on cylinder head 5, said packingz being kept in place by means of the screw clamp 43 that screws into boss 41 and is locked in position by a suitable key or detent 44. The main engine shaft 15 has a crank and a crankpin 14, which pin 14 is carried in the bisectional journal box, having a Babbitt metal lining 17, and whose members 18 and 19 are held together byl means of bolts 20, the section 19 having a vertical boss 46 with' an c internally-screw-threaded` recess 34, into which the screw-threaded end 30 of the piston rod 9 is screwed, there being` a lock nut 45 on rod end 30 thatscrews tightly against the end of said boss 46, and thus Aclamps the piston rod ixedly upon and to the crank bearing. Further, it vwill be noted 'that a sleeve 47 slips over and telescopes on the boss 41 of cylinder 'head 5, said sleeve being formed integral with the curved plate 16, which covers the opening 48 'in the oil-filled crank casing G, and slides back and forth over said opening in Ian,osclllaltaiig type of engine like the one I am describing, so.as to keep said casing 6 closed all the time and prevent the escape of oil, for said casing 6 surrounds shaft 15 and its crank and'crank-pin 14 as' well as the journal box for saidpin consisting, of parts 18 vand 19. A spring 42 r"is interposed between head 5 and cover plate 1-6 so as 4.to ,hold said cover closely over the opening 18, and exert a yielding vpressure on the :cover as it slides, thus preventing the escape of oil from ,casing '6. (The vk piston rod 9 has a longitudinal passage v21 through it, see Figure 2; and with vthe 4form .of piston, as ,trunk ,piston 7, to which I am applying my invention for eX- planatory purposes inthe present example, AI yprovide a central pipe 49, in the piston, Ewhich pipe connects with ,the piston I,head f'b, .andavith a central oil passage 52 therein, with which 4voil passage -theagforesaid passage 21 in the piston rod 9 also connects, see Figure 1. This tube 49 leads up ALthrough the centre of piston 7 and is connected with `a vhorizontal tube 36 ythat ,empties at both ends into a circular oil groove '51 Aon Kthe outside ofthe .central portion of the piston `Tandbetween ,it ,and the adjoining interior wall of cylinder 1, so .that oil may be supplied tolubricate the surface of the piston and cylinder during the reciprocatory movements of the engine. The other end of rod `9 distant from the `cylinder 1 and outside Vthe same is enlarged at ,30 `as already explained andscreived into kthe .screw-threaded lcavity 34 in zthe boss46 on box section 119, see Figure l2, while ,the lock nut A45 screws against ,boss 46 and yholds the piston-rod against any loosening which might tend to ,disconnect the partys. f

`\',Vfl1in vthe rod member' 30-is a plungercarrying andvalve-containing recess or recesses, containing a pair of valves w21-,rich function -and operate in the yWay that I shall now explain. The recess is .preferably a dif- Iferential one, consisting `of two parts, ya larger screw-threaded outer part 5() that contains a scre\v-thr'caded vhollow plug 24, and an inner smoothly bored Vpart 22, .of

.- smaller diameter' and containing na loose plunger or valve 4carrier23, which is shorter than the length of ,bore f and is reciprocable ltherein between Vone end of bore 22 and Athe .opposite Kend of Ythe bore which is formedbythe adjacent side of screw plug 24. The plug -24 has a cavity 31 therein, in which is l-a ball valve28 ,that is `normally 'heldto Vits seat .over the end of an orifice or nliet. ,lopeiil'llg 35 leading ,from ther lower Aend of recess 34 into cavity l31 by means if esprime v29tensione/ d between valve 28 'and aber for grating 60 ,Supported 'across cavity 31` .seas tov retain .the Spring 29 Withheld on itsseat at the end o fa central pas- T sage `33 inthe member 23 'by means of a spring 26 tens'ioned 'between valve 25 and a bar or .grating 2.7 ,fixed Yacross Ythe cavity 32 in such a manner thatit will hold the spring but not obstruct ,the flow of the lubricant in said cavity 32.

The passage .or orifice .33 in member 23 leads from the Cavity 31 to the cavity 32; and `the passage yor Iorifice 35 yin member 24 leads from the `cavity 34 to the cavity The valve 28 is a primary 'valve which allows oil to pass linto the cavity v31; and the valve 25 is ya secondary valve which allonvszoil to pass `from cavity `31 into lcavity ,32, whence Iit flows Vor .is pumped readily into recess 22, andenward ,into any lu'bricatn .ing system gthat may 5be .connected withsaid .recess 22, vas for .example, the ,passage 211, tube- 49, tube 36 and circular oil aport 5111,

.as I ihave already explained. The reciprocating plunger or carrier 23, in conlunctlon that leads from some suitablesource vof'oil` supply, such vas aztaagl, can, lor receptacle.

In the present example of lthe invention, where the oil yis supplied to an oscillating yeylfindenl `connect `the pipe 13'fwith, or form yit yintegral lwith, a shalglow pan 150, which vibrates `beneath a teed `pipe 11 having a hand valve l2, asfshown in Figure 1.

The operation of my improved device for lubricating a moving mechanical member will be fully understood from the foregoing description Without requiring much' lin addition ,.to be said. A constant supply .of Ioil will reach the chamber `34 through the 'feed pipe 13, for the range of movement of ,pan 10 will always keep it in under the oildropping from. the inflow pipe 11. the piston 7 is ,moving downwardly, and ltlle the reciprocating plunger ,or vcarrier member 23 will obviously be .carried downwardly M with it, ,but as said plunger lies freely in the 'bore of chamber 22 in the piston rod section 30 it will evidently o n such downward movement slide to the V'upper end ,of said bore 22, and this will causea suction through .the 'cavity 3.1 in plug 24:, .and the vacuum thus created will open valve 28 and `-draw oil through passage 3.5 from ychamber 34, so that the 'Space' ,above valve 28 recess .3,1

- will be filled, the secondary valve 25 during `this upwardly reciprocating movement of lplunger 23 remainingv closed. When the plunger 23 reaches theupper end of bore 22 Vits upward movement will stop and spring 'Y the oil flowing upward as it will through passage 33 and the space above valve 25 will be filled with oil, that will find its way from recess22 into passage 21 and thence through the tubular and other members of the oiling system tothe parts to be lubricated, in so doing compressing spring 26 until the part 23 reaches the limit of its downward movement, when said spring 26 will close the secondary valve 25 and prevent the oil which has thus passed said valve from returning below it.

This reciprocation of the sliding-block 23, and the alternate opening and closing of the primary and secondary valves 28 and 25 will Y pump the oil from the chamber 34 and cause y it to be transmitted to the parts to be lubricated, keeping the system abundantly supplied with oil all the time, and said pumping action being carried on through the utilization of the regular reciprocating movement of the piston rod, and its oscillating action in the operation of the engine, without requiring the provision of special actuating pumping means. Thus power and energy are saved and the device is at once both economical and practical. I am also able to direct the movement of the liquid through long interior passages to remote and inaccesible parts, and avoid the weakening of the engine frame and cylinder walls vwhich would occur if holes were tapped through same to reach these parts directly from the outside.

The device herein described is of wide application, and I therefore wish to reserve the right of applying it in combination with any mechanical parts which are to be oiled and with which it is found useful; and I wish also to expressly reserve the privilege of varying, changing and re-combining the structural details within wide limits, in so far as this can be done without exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

l. In a lubricator, the combination of a reciprocating mechanical member, having a differential chamber therein and an oil passage leading away from said chamber for carrying off the oil pumped therein, a valve casing inthe larger end of said chamber orificed to permit the passage of oil, an automatically yielding valve Icontrolling the orificed casing, a loose plunger in the narrowest part of said differential chamber having a central passage through it, said plunger sliding in its chamber from one end to the other, and a yielding Valve controlling the passage in said plunger, said first valve opening when vthe second valve is closed and said second valve opening when the first valve is closed.

2. The combination with a reciprocating piston rod, or similar part, and an oil chambered journal box with which it is connected, of a chamber in said piston rod, a valve between said chamber and the oil chamber of the journal box, a loose sliding pumping plunger in the rod chamber, and a valve 1n said plunger, both of said valves operating automatically and alternately during the reciprocation of the rod and journal box.

3. The combination with a piston and its rod, a main shaft having a crank pin, a bearing for said pin to which the rod is connected, said bearing having a recess that is constantly supplied with oil, a loosely-slidH ing pumping member in a recess in the piston rod, valve devices operated by the movement of the parts to cause the liquid to pass from the supply recess to the other side of the pumping member, and suitable passages for transmitting the liquid to interior and distant parts of any mechanism.

4. The combination with an externallygrooved piston and its rod, and a main crank shaft to which the rod is connected, of a loosely-sliding pumping member in a recess in the piston rod, valve devices operated by the movement of the parts to cause 'the liquid to pass from below the pumping member to a point above the same, and a tubular system for receiving the lubricant thus pumped and feed it to the groove in the exterior surface of the piston.

5. The combination with a piston and its rod, and a main crank shaft to which the rod is connected, of a loosely-sliding free pumping member in a chamber in said rod, said member having a passage through it, a spring-provided check valve seated in said passage, another spring-provided check valve arranged to admit liquid into the aforesaid pumping chamber, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a moving rod or the like mechanical part, having a chamber thereof of a differential character, a plug in spring-provided ball valve controlling said opening, a free pumping member' in the part of the chamber of smaller diameter, said vmember having a cavity7 therein and .a :passage leading from .the cavity in the plug,

and a secondary springeprovidecl ball valve ,controlling .the passage in the plunger, said valves operating automatically and alternately duringthe reciproeationsof vthe parts to llt the lubricant fand .feed :it forwarfl vfor 10 use While the mechanism is running.

In testimony whereof hereunto aix my 

